Five people have been charged in the UK following a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into Russian Coms, a caller ID spoofing service used by fraudsters.
Ayoub Sehailia, 28, Zakkaria Sehailia, 30, Usman Din, 30, Denis Ozmus, 29, and Fadila Salem, 53, all of London, are charged with offences that include conspiracy to supply articles for use in fraud, transferring and converting criminal property, and, for Zakkaria Sehailia, failing to comply with a notice to provide phone passcodes.
All five were due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 14 August.
“The platform, established in 2020, started as a handset and then moved to a web-based application, with both products being marketed and sold. They allowed criminals to hide their identity by appearing to call from pre-selected numbers,” the NCA said.
“These would often be of financial institutions, telecommunications companies and law enforcement agencies with the aim of stealing funds and personal details from victims.”
Authorities believe the scam was behind financial losses in the tens of millions, with an estimated 170,000 people across the UK falling victim to it.
Russian Coms was shut down in March 2024 after generating more than 1.3 million calls to 500,000 unique UK phone numbers between 2021 and 2024. The average loss among reported victims was more than £9,400.
According to the NCA, the scam spared no age group, reaching victims across 107 countries, including the USA, New Zealand, Norway, France, and the Bahamas.
Using Russian Coms, scammers spoofed a bank’s number to gain victims’ trust before claiming their accounts had been compromised. Victims were then persuaded to transfer their money to so-called “safe accounts.”
Marketed through Telegram, Snapchat, and Instagram, Russian Coms came as both a handset and a web app, offering encrypted calls, a web-based phone line, no call logs, international calling, voice changing, instant handset wipes, and 24/7 support.
Criminals paid £1,200 to £1,400 for a six-month handset contract, or £350 a month for full access to the web app, all paid in cryptocurrency.